Tulips Everywhere
David Johnston
CrossPoint Church
Blog April 16, 2008
Tulips Everywhere
My wife caused me to have a strange dream last week. In my dream the garden in my yard was filled with tulips everywhere. I remember being really excited about this. You see, I am a gardener and I usually plant several hundred tulip bulbs in my yard in the fall so they will sprout in the early spring. Although I bought several expensive bags of tulip bulbs last fall I neglected to plant them. They are still sitting in my garage.
Last week my wife saw the bags of tulips in the garage and asked me, “Why don’t you plant those tulip bulbs so we get some tulips in our garden this spring.” My wife isn’t a gardener. She doesn't have a clue that in order to get tulips in the spring you have to plant bulbs in the fall.
When my wife asked me that question I had two choices: I could tell her she doesn’t know anything about gardening and make her feel stupid, or I could tell her that I forgot to plant the tulips last fall and look like an idiot. I took the safe man route and gave a couple of indistinguishable grunts and hoped that she would drop it. She did. That night I had my tulip dream.
The next morning was Sunday, and as I stood up to give my sermon God suddenly brought my dream to mind. My topic that morning was The Keys to Health and Life. God gave me an instant illustration that fit right into my sermon: If you want beautiful tulips in the spring…you have to plant bulbs in the fall. In the same way if you want to experience the blessings of life that God has planned for you, you have to invest time in a daily walk with Him and plant His Word deep in your heart. The results are worth it: life, peace and joy that comes from the heart of God.
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green” Psalm 92:12-13